Aware that a win here will not only complete a rare whitewash of Australia but also make them the new No. 1 team in the world, a buoyant South Africa will go for the kill in the third and final Test starting here on Saturday.Under Graeme Smith's inspiring leadership, South Africa have looked unstoppable in the series so far. In contrast, Ricky Ponting managed to salvage some individual reputation but Australia as a team cut a very sorry figure both in Perth and Melbourne and now they run the risk of surrendering their world number one crown to the visitors.To make it worse, Australia will be without their pace spearhead Brett Lee and all-rounder Andrew Symonds in this match, even though the injured duo hardly made any impact in the matches they have played so far.
Instead, the uncapped duo of Andrew McDonald and Doug Bollinger are set to make their debut and the attack would be led by left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson.Bollinger's inclusion ahead of Ben Hilfenhaus means Australia opted for two left-arm pacers in the playing eleven, a move that intrigued many.South Africa, meanwhile, decided to go ahead with an unchanged side, which means in-form JP Duminy gets a chance to continue with his sterling shows while Ashwell Prince waits in the sidelines nursing a broken thumb.Smith has decided to lead by example and play through pain to complete the mission he has embarked upon. Battling an elbow injury, the South African captain hit two fifties in Melbourne defying the injury.Smith, however, would return home after the Test to get his own blood injected in his right elbow to see if he can avoid a surgery.
The Proteas captain has already made it clear that he was not ready to bask in the glory of winning their maiden series in Australia and was in fact gunning for a whitewash which would also make them the top side in the world."I look around me and the squad appears very calm. Each bloke is hungry for a good performance. They either want to score a big hundred or take five wickets. We want to win and there is a real motivation to win the series 3-0. That opportunity hasn't come around very often for teams against Australia," Smith said.
"The team is motivated and I think there is a lot of individual motivation as well. The guys want to win and put in big performances," he added.Smith questioned Australia's decision to go ahead with two left-hand pacers and felt South Africa's sterling performance has confused the Australian selectors."It is unusual. Only India these days seem to have two left-handers around. Having Hilfenhaus in the squad for Melbourne and now going for Bollinger shows a certain lack of clarity in the selection process. That has surprised us. We know that it is his (Bollinger's) home ground but I guess Hilfenhaus must feel a bit hard done by," Smith said."If we have caused a bit of uncertainty in their camp, then we will take that as a compliment that we have played well and met the challenges that we need to do. I think we will take that as a bit of a feather in our cap," he added.
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